The 17th annual TUCO Chefs’ and Food Service Skills Challenge took place on 23 March in Blackpool, with Warwick’s Ramkumar Govindaswamy scooping the top prize of gold in the Food Service Skills Challenge.

This is the first year that Warwick has entered the Food Service Skills Challenge and competition for the top prize was fierce.

Ramkumar thoroughly impressed the judges who praised his attention to detail, his calmness under pressure and his fantastic skills in restaurant service.

There were two elements to the Challenge, including a live competition and preparation before the event.

At the live competition, finalists were asked to prepare, serve and clear a table of four people. The lay-up was for a three course meal with coffee and wines and finalists had to also include four different individual napkin folds.

Finalists were also judged on their design for the table lay-up, including menu cards, and their overall ability to undertake table service in a live competition, serving an amuse bouche, a plated main course, silver serving the potatoes and vegetables, a plated dessert selection, two wines, water and tea/coffee. Prior to the competition, finalists were asked to design a menu card for the lunch.

TUCO is the University Caterers' Organisation. The annual Chefs’ and Food Service Skills Challenge is open to all TUCO member Universities and Colleges and acknowledges and rewards the top chefs in the higher education sector. The Challenge was part of this year’s TUCO Competitions and Training Event, which was held on 22nd - 23rd March 2010 at Blackpool and Fylde College and Blackpool Hilton Hotel.

Congratulations to Ramkumar for this fantastic achievement.